
Directing
Jacques Rivette
Born — Died
1928-03-01 — 2016-01-29
Place of birth
Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France
Known for
Directing
Credits
63 titles
Jacques Rivette (March 1, 1928 - January 29, 2016) was a French film director. With Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette was one of the more experimental of the French New Wave (nouvelle vague) directors. In common with many of his peers, he had a background in film criticism, where he expressed his admiration for popular American cinema, especially genre directors such as Robert Aldrich, Howard Hawks and Frank Tashlin. Rivette's films progress in unconventional ways—often following multiple plots that can be romantic, mysterious, and comic all at once and employing extensive improvisation—and are often extremely long.
Known for
7.3The former famous painter Frenhofer lives quietly with his wife on a countryside residence in the French Provence. When the young artist Nicolas visits him with his girlfriend Marianne, Frenhofer decides to start again the work on a painting he long ago stopped: La Belle Noiseuse. And he wants Marianne as model.
La Belle Noiseuse
1991
5.0No synopsis available yet.
Reflets de Cannes
1954
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Pour le plaisir
1964
6.440 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under conditions similar to those of 1895. There were three rules: (1) The film could be no longer than 52 seconds, (2) no synchronized sound was permitted, and (3) no more than three takes.
Lumière & Company
1995
6.5A troubled marriage is tested by the couple's involvement in a theatrical production of Racine’s Andromaque.
L'Amour fou
1969
6.8Julie, a daydreaming librarian, meets Céline, an enigmatic magician, and together they become the heroines of a time-warping adventure involving a haunted house, psychotropic candy, and a murder-mystery melodrama.
Céline and Julie Go Boating
1974
Film credits
2010s · 2 titles
NRA twenty-minute short documentary produced in 1972 about Jacques Rivette’s “Out 1”, featuring Éric Rohmer, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, Michel Delahaye, and Jacques Rivette.
Die Geheimnisse von Paris
2012
No synopsis available yet.
Conversation entre Jean-Luc Godard et Jacques Rivette
2017
1990s · 4 titles
6.440 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under conditions similar to those of 1895. There were three rules: (1) The film could be no longer than 52 seconds, (2) no synchronized sound was permitted, and (3) no more than three takes.
Lumière & Company
1995
7.0Convinced only she can lead France to victory against the invading English, Jeanne leaves her childhood home to plead with Charles, heir to the French throne, to allow her to guide his troops on the battlefield.
Joan the Maid I: The Battles
1994
7.2A librarian, a gangster's ex-lover, and a woman who has recovered from a coma spend an eye-opening summer in Paris.
Up, Down, Fragile
1995
6.6This film of interviews with the film director Jacques Rivette was produced in collaboration with Serge Daney, film critic from “Cahiers du cinéma”, then of “Liberation”. In the course of their conversations, the two speakers discuss Rivette’s career, his relationships with the other film makers of the new wave, his use of “mise en scene” and his working with actors.
Jacques Rivette, the Watchman
1990
1980s · 2 titles
7.2New Yorker Ben Phillips and mysterious Léo Hoffmann are strangers who are summoned to Paris by a mutual acquaintance. Upon arrival, they meet and soon find themselves tangled in a complex mystery.
Merry-Go-Round
1981
5.3In this thriller, a UNESCO translator stumbles across a group which is hiding and supporting Nazis and facilitating their travel around the world. She had been given an assignment to study the work of a writer who recently had died, and the conspiracy is revealed in materials he left behind. She comes upon a young man who is going through the writer's papers, and she immediately assumes he must be one of the conspirators. However, he soon convinces her of his innocence in that regard, and the two together begin a search for the ringleader.
Short Memory
1982
1960s · 8 titles
6.6A young woman joins a theatrical troupe where she slowly believes that the director is involved with a secret group and that he is in grave danger.
Paris Belongs to Us
1961
8.0Candid interviews of ordinary people on the meaning of happiness, an often amorphous and inarticulable notion that evokes more basic and fundamentally egalitarian ideals of self-betterment, prosperity, tolerance, economic opportunity, and freedom.
The Lovely Month of May
1963
NRIn the third part of a Cinéastes triptych on Jean Renoir, the director sits alone in a cinema analyzing scenes from La Marseillaise and The Rules of the Game, and discussing his editing and storytelling techniques.
Jean Renoir, le patron, 3e partie: La règle et l'exception
1967
8.3Second in the documentary trilogy from mastermind Jacques Rivette, featuring a conversation between Jean Renoir and Michel Simon, who celebrate their reunion by discussing, among other things, La Chienne (1931) and Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932).
Jean Renoir, le patron, 2e partie: La direction d'acteur
1967
8.0Made for Cinéastes de notre temps series. In 1964, several French New Wave auteurs discuss the success and crisis of the wave. Featuring Claude Chabrol, François Truffaut, Jacques Rivette, Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rozier, Jacques Demy, Agnès Varda, Jean Rouch, and many others.
La Nouvelle Vague par elle-même
1964
9.0The first of three documentaries by Rivette on Jean Renoir.
Jean Renoir, le patron, 1re partie: La recherche du relatif
1967
Wanderings during the Cannes and Hyères 1966 festivals. Interviews with Louise de Vilmorin, Jean-Luc Godard, Robert Bresson, Jacques Rivette, Jean-Louis Comolli, François Truffaut. Lunch on the grass of the Cahiers du cinéma, young onlookers on mopeds, children from the surrounding villages, the film portrays an era, a cinephilia, a cinema still in balance between art and industry.
Festivals 66 Cinéma 67
1967
NRThree-part interview with French film director Jean Renoir, conducted by French New Wave director Jacques Rivette.
Jean Renoir parle de son art
1961
1950s · 2 titles
5.8Evelyne, the young wife of Judge Bertal, falls in love with Remy, who lives in Paris, on holiday in Italy. After following him in the lovers city, she realises Remy is whom she really loves, and decides to return home to inform her husband – but her plane crashes.
The Glass Castle
1950
6.6Claire is a chic young Parisian woman married to a somewhat older husband, Jean. Claire meets her lover, Claude, at his apartment, where he gifts her a fur coat. Now Claire needs to figure out how to return home with this expensive gift without the affair being found out.
Fool’s Mate
1956
Series credits
Behind the camera
7.3The former famous painter Frenhofer lives quietly with his wife on a countryside residence in the French Provence. When the young artist Nicolas visits him with his girlfriend Marianne, Frenhofer decides to start again the work on a painting he long ago stopped: La Belle Noiseuse. And he wants Marianne as model.
La Belle Noiseuse
1991
7.3The former famous painter Frenhofer lives quietly with his wife on a countryside residence in the French Provence. When the young artist Nicolas visits him with his girlfriend Marianne, Frenhofer decides to start again the work on a painting he long ago stopped: La Belle Noiseuse. And he wants Marianne as model.
La Belle Noiseuse
1991
6.440 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under conditions similar to those of 1895. There were three rules: (1) The film could be no longer than 52 seconds, (2) no synchronized sound was permitted, and (3) no more than three takes.
Lumière & Company
1995
6.5A troubled marriage is tested by the couple's involvement in a theatrical production of Racine’s Andromaque.
L'Amour fou
1969
6.8Julie, a daydreaming librarian, meets Céline, an enigmatic magician, and together they become the heroines of a time-warping adventure involving a haunted house, psychotropic candy, and a murder-mystery melodrama.
Céline and Julie Go Boating
1974
6.6A young woman joins a theatrical troupe where she slowly believes that the director is involved with a secret group and that he is in grave danger.
Paris Belongs to Us
1961
6.6A young woman joins a theatrical troupe where she slowly believes that the director is involved with a secret group and that he is in grave danger.
Paris Belongs to Us
1961
6.5Julien is a clockmaker with destructive impulses who decides to blackmail Madame X, a rich, attractive woman who traffics in stolen antiques. What he doesn’t know is that she has an even more dangerous secret that leads him to Marie, with whom he had fallen in love a year earlier.
The Story of Marie and Julien
2003
6.5Julien is a clockmaker with destructive impulses who decides to blackmail Madame X, a rich, attractive woman who traffics in stolen antiques. What he doesn’t know is that she has an even more dangerous secret that leads him to Marie, with whom he had fallen in love a year earlier.
The Story of Marie and Julien
2003
5.2At a Spanish cloister, a celebrated French general of the Napoleonic Wars recognizes the voice of one of the nuns and recalls how, five years ago, she was the Duchess of Langeais, and he her most persistent suitor.
The Duchess of Langeais
2007
5.2At a Spanish cloister, a celebrated French general of the Napoleonic Wars recognizes the voice of one of the nuns and recalls how, five years ago, she was the Duchess of Langeais, and he her most persistent suitor.
The Duchess of Langeais
2007
7.1In eighteenth-century France, a girl is forced against her will to take vows as a nun. Three mothers superior treat her in radically different ways, ranging from maternal concern, to sadistic persecution, to lesbian desire.
The Nun
1967
7.1In eighteenth-century France, a girl is forced against her will to take vows as a nun. Three mothers superior treat her in radically different ways, ranging from maternal concern, to sadistic persecution, to lesbian desire.
The Nun
1967
7.0Jeanne has succeeded in lifting the siege of Orléans and Charles has been crowned King of France. However, she is injured in an attempt to take Paris, weakening her position at court. Captured by the enemy and put on trial, she finds both her life and the sanctity of her body at stake.
Joan the Maid II: The Prisons
1994
7.0In 1930s south of France, young orphan Roch is adopted by the wealthy Earnshaw family and moves into their estate, Wuthering Heights. Soon, the new resident falls for his compassionate foster sister, Cathy. The two share a remarkable bond that seems unbreakable until Cathy, feeling the pressure of social convention, suppresses her feelings and marries Lindon, a man of means who befits her stature. Roch vows to win her back.
Wuthering Heights
1985
7.0In 1930s south of France, young orphan Roch is adopted by the wealthy Earnshaw family and moves into their estate, Wuthering Heights. Soon, the new resident falls for his compassionate foster sister, Cathy. The two share a remarkable bond that seems unbreakable until Cathy, feeling the pressure of social convention, suppresses her feelings and marries Lindon, a man of means who befits her stature. Roch vows to win her back.
Wuthering Heights
1985
6.3After biologist Sylvie discovers her brother Paul trying to steal a gun from her lab, he explains that he wishes to avenge the death of their father whom he suspects died at the hands of his business partner.
Secret Defense
1998
6.3After biologist Sylvie discovers her brother Paul trying to steal a gun from her lab, he explains that he wishes to avenge the death of their father whom he suspects died at the hands of his business partner.
Secret Defense
1998
9.0No synopsis available yet.
Va savoir+
2001
9.0No synopsis available yet.
Va savoir+
2001
6.8Anna, Joyce, Claude, and Cécile are four young actresses sharing a Paris apartment while attending intense acting workshops led by their demanding teacher Constance. As they rehearse scenes and navigate the tensions of living together, their personal lives begin to grow complicated when Joyce becomes involved with a mysterious older man whose presence slowly pulls the others into a web of secrets and suspicions, blurring the boundary between the roles they perform and the lives they're actually living.
Gang of Four
1989
6.8Anna, Joyce, Claude, and Cécile are four young actresses sharing a Paris apartment while attending intense acting workshops led by their demanding teacher Constance. As they rehearse scenes and navigate the tensions of living together, their personal lives begin to grow complicated when Joyce becomes involved with a mysterious older man whose presence slowly pulls the others into a web of secrets and suspicions, blurring the boundary between the roles they perform and the lives they're actually living.
Gang of Four
1989
6.9Two enigmatic women, both with a hidden but shared motive, separately arrive in Paris. As they navigate the city and their search progresses, various characters become entangled within their conflict, one which increasingly comes to take a fantastical turn. These characters too, driven by their own desires, strive for their own goals in the fight. From a Paris, drenched in an otherworldly ambiance, a tale of desire and power emerges through mystery.
Duelle (Une Quarantaine)
1976
6.9Two enigmatic women, both with a hidden but shared motive, separately arrive in Paris. As they navigate the city and their search progresses, various characters become entangled within their conflict, one which increasingly comes to take a fantastical turn. These characters too, driven by their own desires, strive for their own goals in the fight. From a Paris, drenched in an otherworldly ambiance, a tale of desire and power emerges through mystery.
Duelle (Une Quarantaine)
1976
5.9Vittorio stops to help Kate when her car breaks down on a mountain road. When they meet again, Vittorio discovers that Kate has rejoined a circus after a long time away. He begins to learn about the troupe's buried past and Kate's connection to it, while experiencing the magic of the circus.
Around a Small Mountain
2009
5.9Vittorio stops to help Kate when her car breaks down on a mountain road. When they meet again, Vittorio discovers that Kate has rejoined a circus after a long time away. He begins to learn about the troupe's buried past and Kate's connection to it, while experiencing the magic of the circus.
Around a Small Mountain
2009
5.8A playwright offers two actress friends the chance to appear in his new, unfinished play, which consists of only one female part.
Love on the Ground
1984
5.8A playwright offers two actress friends the chance to appear in his new, unfinished play, which consists of only one female part.
Love on the Ground
1984
7.0Convinced only she can lead France to victory against the invading English, Jeanne leaves her childhood home to plead with Charles, heir to the French throne, to allow her to guide his troops on the battlefield.
Joan the Maid I: The Battles
1994
7.0The film features five actors, two women and three men. According to Rivette, “It ran 40 minutes and nothing happens. It’s just four people sitting around a table, looking at each other. After ten minutes, people started to leave, and at the end, the only ones who stayed were Jean-Luc and a girl.”
Le quadrille
1950
NRIn the third part of a Cinéastes triptych on Jean Renoir, the director sits alone in a cinema analyzing scenes from La Marseillaise and The Rules of the Game, and discussing his editing and storytelling techniques.
Jean Renoir, le patron, 3e partie: La règle et l'exception
1967
NRIn the third part of a Cinéastes triptych on Jean Renoir, the director sits alone in a cinema analyzing scenes from La Marseillaise and The Rules of the Game, and discussing his editing and storytelling techniques.
Jean Renoir, le patron, 3e partie: La règle et l'exception
1967
7.2A librarian, a gangster's ex-lover, and a woman who has recovered from a coma spend an eye-opening summer in Paris.
Up, Down, Fragile
1995
7.2A librarian, a gangster's ex-lover, and a woman who has recovered from a coma spend an eye-opening summer in Paris.
Up, Down, Fragile
1995
6.6Claire is a chic young Parisian woman married to a somewhat older husband, Jean. Claire meets her lover, Claude, at his apartment, where he gifts her a fur coat. Now Claire needs to figure out how to return home with this expensive gift without the affair being found out.
Fool’s Mate
1956
6.6Claire is a chic young Parisian woman married to a somewhat older husband, Jean. Claire meets her lover, Claude, at his apartment, where he gifts her a fur coat. Now Claire needs to figure out how to return home with this expensive gift without the affair being found out.
Fool’s Mate
1956
6.2After finding love and success in Italy, French actress Camille returns to Paris, the city she fled three years ago. She secretly dreads confronting her ex-boyfriend Pierre. Her new lover Ugo also has a secret, as he’s meeting with the intriguing Dominique while on his quest for an unpublished manuscript.
Va Savoir (Who Knows?)
2001
5.6Before Le Pont du Nord Rivette films Paris s'en va, a short film of approximately 25 minutes. He works with the same actors and the same technical team on both films. Henry Chapier who produced the short: "At the beginning of the '80s nobody was interested in Rivette's highly imaginative project Le Pont du Nord. Therefore Rivette came up with a kind of 'transposition' of the themes of Le Pont du Nord in the shape of Paris s'en va. Just like a painter in the Renaissance who does a sketch for a future project."
Paris s'en va
1981
5.6Before Le Pont du Nord Rivette films Paris s'en va, a short film of approximately 25 minutes. He works with the same actors and the same technical team on both films. Henry Chapier who produced the short: "At the beginning of the '80s nobody was interested in Rivette's highly imaginative project Le Pont du Nord. Therefore Rivette came up with a kind of 'transposition' of the themes of Le Pont du Nord in the shape of Paris s'en va. Just like a painter in the Renaissance who does a sketch for a future project."
Paris s'en va
1981
6.8Marie is just out from prison when she runs into Baptiste, a young paranoid needing companionship. In their pursuit of a mysterious briefcase carried by Marie's former lover, they roam the street of Paris, transformed into a giant board game, a maze spotted with mysterious traps, puzzling clues, and chance encounters. Maybe they are bricks in some sinister scheme, maybe they are playing a board game, maybe it's a fairy tale, maybe it's yet something else...
Le Pont du Nord
1982



